Media Release
Dating app tip-off lands Melbourne man in jail for online child abuse offences
A Melbourne man has been sentenced to two years and two months' imprisonment, to be released after four months on a Commonwealth Recognisance Release Order, after a match on a dating app referred him to police.
The Hamlyn Heights man, 45, was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria yesterday (25 March, 2025) after pleading guilty to two charges relating to using and accessing child abuse material.
A Victorian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) investigation started in early December, 2023, after a woman approached police with concerns about the man, who she matched with on a dating app.
She told police he initiated a conversation in which he both expressed interest in sexually exploiting children and also attempted to engage in fantasy role-play based on the abuse of children.
After linking the man to the illegal online child exploitation activity, police executed a search warrant at his home on 12 December, 2023, finding child abuse material on a mobile phone.
Officers seized several electronic devices, including multiple laptops and the mobile phone with the dating app downloaded. Digital forensic analysis of these devices identified more than 60 images containing child abuse material.
The man pleaded guilty on 18 March, 2025, to the following offences:
- One count of using a carriage service to groom another person to make it easier to procure a child believed to be under 16 years of age to engage in sexual activity, contrary to section 474.27AA(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth); and
- One count of possess or control child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage service, contrary to section 474.22A(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).
AFP Detective Superintendent Bernard Geason thanked the woman who came forward.
"Those who seek to commit unspeakable acts against children are often active online," Det Supt Geason said.
"While identifying these predators is a priority for police, we also rely on the public to voice any concerns, noting the information they provide, however small, can be invaluable to investigators.
"In this case, a dating app match led to a date with the courts, which I hope sends a warning to those participating in this vile criminality that you can expect a knock at the door any time."
Victoria JACET comprises AFP and Victoria Police officers.
The AFP and its partners are committed to stopping child exploitation and abuse and the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) is driving a collaborative national approach to combatting child abuse.
The ACCCE brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supporting investigations into online child sexual exploitation and developing prevention strategies focused on creating a safer online environment.
Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the ACCCE. If you know abuse is happening right now, or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 000.
If you, or someone you know, is impacted by child sexual abuse and online exploitation, support services are available.
Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed only about half of parents talked to their children about online safety. Advice and support for parents and carers about how they can help protect children online can be found on the ThinkUKnow website, an AFP-led education program designed to prevent online child sexual exploitation.
For more information on the role of the ACCCE, what online child sexual exploitation is, and how to report it, visit the ACCCE website.
Note to media
Use of term 'CHILD ABUSE' MATERIAL not 'CHILD PORNOGRAPHY'
The correct legal term is Child Abuse Material – the move to this wording was among amendments to Commonwealth legislation in 2019 to more accurately reflect the gravity of the crimes and the harm inflicted on victims.
Use of the phrase 'child pornography' is inaccurate and benefits child sex abusers because it:
- indicates legitimacy and compliance on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and
- conjures images of children posing in 'provocative' positions, rather than suffering horrific abuse.
Every photograph or video captures an actual situation where a child has been abused.
